


Miraculous: Competition of King Lion and Serpent

by ATrulyDepravedBubble



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Action, Adrian and Marinette as parents, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Future, Humour, Love Triangle, M/M, Marichat, Multi, Next Generation, Original heroes - Freeform, Post-Canon, Unrequited Love, and more canon characters, and ships, but wont be in first two chapters, children of main characters!, lots of ocs..., love square, probably gonna add more ocs, they will have a big role later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATrulyDepravedBubble/pseuds/ATrulyDepravedBubble
Summary: Ever since she was a child, Nicole Agreste has always looked up to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now a teenager, Nicole never expected to become a hero just like them. Taking up the heroic identity of Serpent, she finds herself searching for the many missing Miraculouses before they fall in to the wrong hands the 'help' of fellow heroes King Lion and Beau Flamant.Caught up in a mystery that may shape the future of Paris, Nicole must balance between the life of a superhero and your typical smitten school girl, trying to save the city and date the boy of her dreams. Little does she know, the heroes she used to idolise so much are closer than she thinks.





	1. Bullmonster

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! So, I had this idea in my head for a while, then I forgot about it, then I began watching Season 2 or Miraculous Ladybug and the idea came back. It's a next gen fic, probably has been done before, but hey-ho. I've already create a basis for a story and began writing it, so I'm now letting the world see it! It will probably suck...  
> I hope you enjoy if you read this :)

“Hey! Mum! Dad! Tell me about Ladybug and Chat Noir again!” Nicole Agreste, a six-year-old girl with bright, sparkling green eyes and long black hair sat cross-legged on her bed, wearing spotty pyjamas and staring up gleefully at her parents.

Her father, Adrien, tickled her, chuckling lightly, “Well, as you know, they were two mega awesome superheroes who fought against the evil Hawk Moth and Le Paon! Also, they were really, really in love!”

“Right,” Marionette, her mother, rolled her eyes, arms crossed, but held a fond smile nevertheless, “Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug, but she was way too good for him.”

“But it turned out that Ladybug was in love with Chat Noir’s real identity! Because they were superheroes, they had to keep their identities secret! And when they were out of their superhero costumes, Ladybug stalked Chat Noir whenever she had the chance!” Adrien was grinning now, looking up at his wife with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“She did not stalk him! She just had a little crush on him is all,” Marionette stated, while Nicole burst into laughter.

“Ladybug was a stalker!” Nicole exclaimed innocently.

“She wasn’t!” Marionette shrieked, before regaining her composure, “Anyway, they ended up teaming up with a group of awesome heroes and took down the evil villains!”

“And then they fell in love and lived happily ever after,” their daughter finished, hugging her cat teddy tightly.

“Exactly,” Adrien ruffled her hair, smiling at the girl.

“I wish I could meet them and help them save the world!” Nicole said happily.

Adrien chuckled some more, before hugging her, “I’m sure they’re closer than you think, dearie.”

“Now, little girls like you need to go to sleep,” Marionette said, kissing her forehead.

“But I’m not tiiiiired! I wanna become a superhero right now! And I wanna meet Ladybug and Chat Noir and Queen Bee and Carapace and Rena Rouge and save the world!” Nicole whined.

“To be a superhero, you need plenty of rest. Otherwise, you’ll be too tired to save the world,” Marionette explained softly, “In the morning you can become a superhero.”

“Ok, mummy! If that’s what it takes, I’ll sleep right now!” Nicole pulled the covers over her body, snuggling into the sheets, pulling her teddy close.

“Good night, dearie,” Adrien said as he and his wife left the room, smiling fondly at their enthusiastic daughter.

“Night night! I’m going to fight Hawk Moth in my dreams…” Nicole rubbed her tired eyes and the lights in her room were switched off.

**TEN YEARS LATER**

_Ring Ring… Ring Ring…_

Green eyes slowly opened, awakening to the sound of ringing. Nicole Agreste yawned as she sat up, mind in a daze. All she knew was that something was ringing. Wait, no it wasn’t. The ringing stopped. She reached over to grab her phone, the likely source of the noise, and checked it to find three missed calls and one text, all from her best friend. Burrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Nicole opened the text.

‘Hey, are you still coming to town?’

Nicole blinked, before gasping in horror, remembering the arrangement she had made. Immediately, the girl leapt out of bed, stumbling through her bedroom to grab her clothes, speedily getting dressed. Her heart crashed against her chest as she soon left the room, replying to the text.

She ran downstairs, grabbing her handbag and skidding through the halls of the large house. Nicole was rather lucky, having a famous fashion designer and a supermodel as parents, living in an expensive mansion. Unfortunately, it could be a little annoying when you were in a rush.

Arriving in the kitchen, Nicole panted, breathing quickly as she stumbled to a food cabinet. She swung it open, grabbing a croissant and shoving it in her mouth, eating as quickly as possible.

“What’s the rush?” her father, who sat at the kitchen table, questioned, eyebrow raised in mild amusement.

“Meeting friend in town, need to buy something, school tomorrow,” Nicole said, speaking in fast, unintelligible words as finished off the croissant.

He laughed, looking through images of the designs his wife had prepared for him to model later that day, “Alright then. Have fun!”

Nicole just nodded, cleaning her hands and sprinting outside the house, rushing into town. She slowed down as her eyes lay on a girl with strawberry blonde hair, standing beside a café with a phone in hand. Immediately, Nicole approached her, cheeks heated in embarrassment, “A-Avril! I’m so sorry I’m late! I slept in and then I had to rush and-”

“It’s cool, don’t worry about it,” her best friend, Avril Bellarose, laughed lightly, “So, are we gonna buy that stupid present or not?”

“It’s not stupid! It’s tradition! Whenever Étienne and I are-” Nicole was cut off again.

“Whenever you and Étienne are separated by the cruelty of fate, you must get each other a present to be all cute and show that you still care for the other!” Avril stated dramatically.

“Well… We’ve been doing it since kids, and it’s almost the end of half-term so I need to get one now,” Nicole said.

“Do you have to? He always ‘forgets’ to get you one,” Avril asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s just… Forgetful!” Nicole laughed it off as the two entered the mall. It was extremely busy, unsurprisingly, filled with students trying to make the most of their last day of freedom.

“Soooo,” Avril leaned closely to her best friend, grinning mischievously, “What are we gonna get him? Rosses ‘cause your completely and utterly in love with him?”

“Sh-Shut up? I just wanna get him something that will be nice and personal, but not too obvious that I like him!” Nicole stated, flustered, thinking about the boy she cared about so much.

She and Étienne had been friends since the moment they could walk, along with a slightly older boy named Bastion. Their parents had all been close, leading to their children becoming close. They had all grown up together, and ever since the promise Nicole and Étienne made when they were ten, she was convinced that they would be married someday.

While Étienne and Nicole had always been sweethearts, Bastion was like a big brother to the two. Nicole often felt that she could tell anything to the boy, finding a close confidant in the boy, and Bastion was very protective of his childhood friends. Nicole often felt that Avril and Bastion would make a good couple, but she didn’t dare mention that to her best friend.

“Any idea of where to go?” Avril asked as they walked through the mall, glancing at the different stores they walked by.

“Hm… Maybe a bakery? He loves eclairs…” Nicole then shook her head, “Wait, no. I got them for him last time. I need to be original!”

“I dunno, an éclair sound like the safest bet for someone like him…” Avril muttered.

“Hmm…” Nicole’s eyes scanned the different stores, before finally resting on a small gift shop. She nodded, walking towards the store, “This place might be good.”

“Well, it is a gift shop,” Avril shrugged, following the raven-haired girl inside the shop. It was a small place, with shelves filled with small, but mostly cute, gifts.

As they looked at the items on sale, Nicole found herself noticing a shelf holding small, glass statues of different animals. A green snake rested among them and, almost instantly, Nicole decided on that, fiddling with her own snake necklace which she always wore. It was priced at fifteen euros, something within her price range.

“What do you think of this?” Nicole asked excitedly, showing Avril the small figure.

“Cute,” Avril mused, glancing at it, “But will Étienne like it?”

“I think so!” Nicole grinned, walking over to the cashier. The figure was brought and put in to a small, paper bag. Holding the bag tightly, Nicole left the store, Avril following closely behind her.

As they walked through the store, Avril spoke up, “So, what should we-”

The girl was cut off by a crashing sound, screeching, followed by screams. The girls both froze, before turning to see the cause of these sounds. People ran passed them, escaping the mall as fast as they could, and Nicole’s eyes widened when she saw what they were running from.

“Bullmonster…” she muttered under her breath, staring at the latest supervillain of Paris – a man dressed as a bull, carrying around an axe, who terrorised the city with his violence and super strength, destroying everything in his path.

“We need to- Ah!” Avril found herself being pushed away by members of the crowd, losing sight of her best friend.

This actually came as a relief to Nicole, and she ran into an empty store, hiding where nobody could see her. She glanced at the villain, eyes scanning his actions, crouching in the small store. Her fingers slid against the snake necklace that hung around her neck, and a small, flying being appeared. It held a snake like shape, and its big eyes glanced lazily at the man terrorising the mall.

“Bullmonster, huh?” the creature yawned, sounding unenthusiastic.

“Yep. Hopefully I’ll be able to defeat him this time,” Nicole muttered, standing up, “Poiisa! Scales on!”

Her necklace glowed a bright green, and she was soon transformed. The style of her hair changed into a tight ponytail, and her preppy outfit was replaced by a body suit of dark and light green, a mask with dark green scales forming around her face. She attached her shopping bag to her belt and glanced back out of the window.

Oh, did I forget to mention? Nicole was the famous superhero, Serpent, much like the heroes she admired so much as a child. Her necklace was the snake Miraculous, allowing her to meet the kwami known as Poiisa, and be given snake like powers – ones she used to protect the city of Paris. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one who held a Miraculous. From what she had been told, someone out there had managed to find many Miraculous, and would search for people who would use them for evil, delivering them a Miraculous and allowing them to do what they wished.

It was Serpent’s main goal to find these Miraculous and put them in good hands, trying her hardest to prevent villains like Bullmonster from gaining power. When she first started her job of heroism, villains came around much less than they did now – then again, it used to take longer for her to defeat them. Nowadays, they were becoming a more common occurrence and, although it was a nuisance, at least it allowed her to collect the Miraculous faster.

If only the famous Cat Noir and Ladybug could help. Unfortunately, they had long retired from heroism.

Poiisa floated up beside her, yawning some more as she did so, “So… What’s the plan?”

“Sneak attack,” Nicole, or ‘Serpent’, said, flashing her kwami a smirk.

The girl knelt on her knees, sneaking out of the store. Her green eyes glared at Bullmonster, who was currently shoving jewellery from a partially destroyed jewellery store into a bag. He was distracted, giving her the chance to attack. Serpent grabbed her main weapon, a blowgun, and aimed it at the man’s head.

“Oi! Bullmonster!” An obnoxious, male voice boomed throughout the mall, a recognisable voice, one Serpent dreaded.

Both Serpent and Bullmonster looked up at the source, seeing a male in a lion like costume – a brown and yellow bodysuit with fur at his collar, a golden mask and messy brown hair, hair that stuck out everywhere. The boy stood at the top of an escalator, smugly looking down on Bullmonster.

“King Lion…!” Bullmonster sneered, preparing his axe.

Without control, filled with rage at the arrogant boy’s sudden appearance, Serpent found herself yelling “HE’S MINE!”, clenching her fists and glaring at the hero, her rival, known as King Lion, holder of the lion Miraculous.  
Serpent and King Lion were both considered the superheroes of the city – often compared to Chat Noir and Ladybug. However, unlike their predecessors, it was common knowledge that the two could not stand each other, almost always ending up fighting each other rather than the villain they should have been stopping.

Unfortunately, her uncontrolled yelling caught the attention of Bullmonster, causing him to charge head first at the girl. She quickly dodged, allowing the man to crash into the wall behind her. King Lion soon leapt off the ledge, doing a flip as he did so, landing right next to Serpent.

“You…!” King Lion growled under his breath as he glared at her, before regaining his composure, “I think you’ll see that I’ll defeat him! My powers are far greater than yours!”

“Right, so is your arrogance,” Serpent rolled her eyes, clutching her blowgun tightly. She seriously wanted to use it to shoot a dart at that insufferable lion boy.

“Tch! Whatever! You’ll soon see when that idiot is on his knees, begging me for mercy!” King Lion snapped, readying his fists, adjusting his brass knuckles.

Bullmonster jumped to his feet, turning to glare menacingly at the two, towering above them before charging. He prepared to slash them with his axe, only for the two to jump in opposite directions.

Serpent’s green eyes narrowed as she gazed at the villain. Grabbing her blowgun, she pushed a poison dart and aimed it at Bullmonster, soon blowing the dart in his direction. The dart missed by only a few inches and she could hear King Lion’s obnoxious laugh echo throughout the mall.

“Haha! Let me show you how it’s really done!” King Lion exclaimed, leaping atop a surface and gazing down at Bullmonster, calculative eyes examining his actions before the boy jumped at him. His spiked fists landed against the man’s back, only to be thrown right off, crashing against the ground.

“Woozah!” he shrieked, before rolling away from the axe Bullmonster attempted to slice him with, soon jumping back to his feet.

“Wooaaah,” Serpent drawled sarcastically, preparing another dart, “You really did show me how it’s done. Congrats.”

“Shut it…!” King Lion growled, clenching his fists as she blew the dart. It almost hit the villain, and would have had if it weren’t for the fact that King Lion chucked an apple in front of it, saving Bullmonster.

“What the heck was that for!?” shrieked Serpent.

“I ain’t letting you take my win!” King Lion yelled, before leaping back at the bull.

“Oh, so you’re gonna play it like that then!?” Serpent grabbed the boy’s tail before he could reach the villain, pushing him to the ground.

“HEY! Let me at him!” King Lion leapt back to his feet and lunged at the girl, kicking her in the stomach. The force caused the glass snake figure to fall out the bag on her side, and she leapt down, catching it before it could smash.

King Lion took the chance to attack Bullmonster once again. Carefully placing the figure back into the bag, Serpent glared at the boy, before aiming the blowgun, “I won’t let you win this time!”

Before she could shoot, however, King Lion jumped back to kick the weapon out of her hands, “Ha! Can’t do nothing now!”

“Agh!” Serpent pushed him against the wall, before violently kicking him to the ground. She snatched up her blowgun and ran back in the direction of Bullmonster.

She was unable to attack, instead being tackled to the ground by King Lion. She punched him in the face, causing him to loudly shriek, “NOT THE FACE!”

The girl pushed him over, using her foot to keep him on the ground. Once again, she aimed the weapon, but King Lion grabbed her ankle and pulled against it, causing her to stumble to the ground.

“Just let me win, damnit!” Serpent demanded, glaring angrily at him.

“Never!” King Lion yelled.

“Neither of you are gonna win!” Before the two knew it, Bullmonster used his strength to kick them against the wall, both crashing against it, falling to the ground and groaning in pain.

“A-Agh…!” King Lion weakly clambered to his feet, only for Bullmonster to charge once more.

They were unable to escape, the large man managing to trap King Lion under his foot and grip Serpent by the neck, pinning her against the wall. Her shopping back slid to the ground from the force and she stared down at it, hoping desperately that it hadn’t smashed.

She glared back at Bullmonster, realising that her could snap her neck anytime now. This called for desperate measures, and mustering up the remaining strength she had, Serpent muttered the words to activate her strongest power, one she could only use once in this battle, “In… Intoxicate!”

Bullmonster winced, his grip weakening. He soon let go, and stumbled back, eyes bluring. Her power, Intoxicate, made any being that touched her grow extremely weak and clumsy, making them seem almost drunk. Unfortunately, although the power seemed to have stunted his thought process, Bullmonster was still strong enough to swing his axe around violently.

“O-Ok...!” King Lion groaned, quickly pulling himself away from Bullmonster’s range, “Well, he seems a lot weaker now… We just need to somehow sneak up on him.”

“I need to find away to sneak up on him,” hissed Serpent, grabbing the shopping back from the ground. She glanced into it, seeing the figure was completely fine. Give a sigh of relief, the girl attached it to her belt, before feeling the axe hit against her.

“S-Serpent...!” King Lion’s eyes widened, seeing her crash against the ground. He may have hated her, but he didn’t want her to die.

The stumbling Bullmonster snatched the girl by her hair, before clumily throwing her at King Lion. Both fell to the ground, and the man dizzily marched up to them, looking like he could fall over at any moment. Serpent groaned, uncomfortable at being so close to her rival, glancing up at the villain. She just need to find away to push him, then he would fall other, likely being unable to get back to his feet.

“Any… Any last words…?” Bullmonster slurred, eyes unfocused, breathing heavily.

Serpent bit her lip. She didn’t have enough time left. After using that power, she only had a few more minutes before she would revert to her civilian form. The girl went to grab her blowgun, only to see the man’s large foot atop it. Bullmonster readied his axe, the weapon shaking as he attempted to kill the heroes.

“You shouldn’t have asked that question, y’know,” a light, calm male voice said from behind.

“Who… Who’s there…!?” Bullmonster dropped the axe, swinging his head around the area to search for the source.

“I mean, if you just killed them straight away, it would be SO much easier. But, like, that question just tends to jinx things, y’know,” the voice said, and Serpent rolled her eyes, knowing exactly who it was, “Like, in every single movie, whenever the villain is like ‘oooh any last words tiny hero?’ either, like, the hero does something badass and steps on them, or another random hero comes out of nowhere, is super badass and steps on them.”

“STOP BLABBERING AND GET ON WITH SAVING US YOU STUPID FLAMINGO!” King Lion yelled.

“Ah, sorry, just getting to that bit,” a whip flew out of seemingly nowhere, wrapping around Bullmonster’s neck and pulling him violently to the ground – easily done, considering the villain’s state. Both King Lion and Serpent managed to escape, and the sound of heels could be heard.

Bullmonster looked up in dread, watching as a male in pink left his hiding spot. The villain was clearly more confident in the idea of fighting King Lion and Serpent, but this person… This person was different.

“Aw, and you guys were doing so well! I mean, like, with that whole intoxication thing – great idea! Buuut, you guys had to be a disappointment. And he seemed so dumb too!” the handsome male in pink gave a light chuckle as he approached Bullmonster, pressing the heel of one of his boots against the man’s head, “Hey! Recognise me~?”

“B-Beau Flamant…” Bullmonster chocked, blurred eyes glancing unsteadily at the male.

Beau Flamant, holder of the flamingo Miraculous, was the first enemy and ally both King Lion and Serpent had acquired. Despite the ridiculous sounding Miraculous, Beau was most certainly the strongest out of the three – after all, he had held his Miraculous for two years longer than the others.

Due to his passed as a villain, Beau Flamant was in no way considered a hero to Paris, but he had changed his ways, wishing to atone for his previous actions. He had become a mentor of sorts to both heroes, being the one to explain the situation of the Miraculouses and teaching them the skills they needed to fight.

Beau’s fingers grabbed the nose ring which Bullmonster wore, a ring with the image of a pull carved on to it, and roughly tugged it off. The man screeched as his bull-like costume faded away, his appearance as a rough looking man covered in tattoos soon appearing instead.

“Just as I suspected,” Beau said smugly, taking a step back, “Absolon Berger. Compulsive gambler, on parole from charges of domestic abuse. Seems like someone is going back to prison.”

“A…Ah… Give it… Back…!” the man reached for the nose ring, clumsily attempting to fight it off the boy, only for Beau to crash his boot against his head, kicking him to the ground.

“Another Miraculous found, thank God,” Beau muttered, examining the nose ring. He glanced up to look at the two heroes, before playfully sighing, “Will I always have to save you two? Pity.”

“Hey! It’s her fault!” King Lion pointed accusingly at Serpent.

“Don’t point at me! It was yours!” Serpent snapped.

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yeah-uh!”

“… It’s like dealing with children. Anyway, Serpent, you used your main power, like, four minutes ago,” Beau Flamant mused and Serpent’s eyes widened in horror.

“Oh yeah…” she heard Poiisa yawn, “You have thirty seconds before you revert back…”

“Agh! I need to go!” Serpent sprinted off, quickly hiding in a shop.

“Well, I gotta go. Seems civilians are coming back. Have fun hogging all the glory, King Lion!” she heard Beau exclaim. He likely wanted to leave so quickly because he was still considered a fugitive in the eyes of the law. The police wanted the arrest him, so he could pay for his past villainous actions, yet Beau claimed he wanted to atone by fighting crime instead of rotting in jail.

Serpent’s superhero outfit soon disappeared, and she was back to being plain old Nicole. She sighed, waiting for the mall to be crowded with curious members of the public and police officers. The girl took the chance to blend in with the crowd, watching as the police took Absolon Berger into custody, and as people took pictures of the smug King Lion.

“Yes, yes, I defeated him all on my own! It was easy, really, I just needed him to weaken his guard, then BAM! Kicked him in the head!” King Lion exclaimed to the amazed members of the public. Nicole found herself seething in anger, but stayed silent. As she walked away, two arms grabbed her from behind, wrapping around her.

“Nicole! There you are! I was so worried!” it was Avril, who pulled her into a tight embrace.

“We must have gotten separated in the havoc!” Nicole said, returning the hug.

A few seconds passed by, and the girls stepped back, smiling at one another, both looking relieved.

“Is the present alright?” Avril asked with a laugh.

“Haha, yeah,” Nicole chuckled lightly.

“Then let’s go home,” the girls exchanged smiles, before finally leaving the mall.

**THE NEXT DAY**

“What’s… This?”

Nicole watched as her childhood friend and lifelong crush, Étienne Bourgeois, opened the present she had given him, gazing at the glass, snake figure with narrow, teal eyes.  
“It’s a snake! Uh, did you get me a present?” Nicole asked, tilting her head slightly, giving a cheerful smile.

“…” Étienne didn’t answer, instead examining the figure, an unamused look spread across his face, “What use do I have with this?”

“Uh… Well… It’s cute and-”

“And I was hoping you got me something nice, like an éclair or something,” Étienne snapped, turning around and dropping the glass snake into a bin.

Nicole could hear the glass shatter, her heart shattering along with it, “Oh…”

“C’mon, we have lessons,” Étienne coldly stated, walking away.

Almost instantly, Nicole decided to forgive him – he was just very honest, after all – and she ran after him, smiling brightly, “So, what did you do over the holidays?”

“Nothing much.”

And so, school life returned to normal. Or, at least, normal enough for a superhero.


	2. Le Scarabée

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction of King Lion, aka Leonardo Durand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hears a link to a design I made for our main guy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ExZi9TB-ESRK0wBv9R-yEIk3lv41v-2N/view?usp=sharing  
> I've put one for Nicole in the last chapter too! So yeah. I was going to put them in the actual thingy, put I struggled with it and this was easier.  
> Thank you for actually reading this - that means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy!

A week had passed since the dreaded end of the half-term holidays and, unsurprisingly, school was still something that Leonardo constantly dreaded. From the time he left school in the afternoon, to the next morning when he would return, the only emotion he felt was dread. The boy lay sprawled on his bed, staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling, the alarm ringing loudly in his ears. A groan forced its way out of his mouth, and Leonardo sat up, rubbing his blurry eyes.

Unenthusiastically climbing out of bed, Leonardo grabbed his glasses, putting them on. No matter how much he dreaded the prospect of returning to the hellhole known as school, no matter how much he wanted to stay within the safety of his home, Leonardo still had to go. Return to a land of constant judgement, of stress and panic. He hated it.

Leonardo was good in lessons, in fact, he was great! Teachers praised his skills in academics, in subjects such as science and maths, and he was considered a straight A student. There was no doubt that once he left school, many opportunities would open to the boy. Unfortunately, he was still in the school, and still surrounded by all the other students that he feared, the ones that all looked down on him.

Although he may have been great academically, Leonardo was terrible when in came to socialising. The moment someone’s gaze would be directed at him, he would be reduced to a stuttering, flustered mess that couldn’t keep a single conversation. His shy and flustered nature was an aspect that attracted bullying, and had always been too passive to stand up for himself, or even tell anyone what was happening to him.

He had no confidence.

At least, not as Leonardo.

Having dressed for the school day – wearing his usual plain jumper and jeans – the boy glanced down at his bracelet which he usually hid under his sleeve, gazing at the lion carved in the centre. As King Lion… He was completely different. He was confident, tough, brave – something Leonardo could never truly be.

“Hey! Hey! Stop mopin’ about!” Leonardo almost screamed, slamming his hands over his mouth, as his kwami flew out from behind him.

“Rarror!” He turned around, narrowing his eyes to glare at the creature, “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Who careees!? You’re acting all mopey again! Stop feelin’ sorry for ya self and face your issues!” Rarror exclaimed.

“… Sure…” Leonardo left his bedroom, a tiny room in a tiny apartment, grabbing food from the kitchen. His mother was already off at work, meaning he was alone in the apartment.

“Ya say that, by ya let all those horrid students walk all over you! It’s pathetic! Stand up to ‘em! Show ‘em your inner lion!” Rarror continued enthusiastically.

“And embarrass myself? No thank you,” Leonardo prepared a plain slice of toast and, upon eating it, grabbed his school bag and the books which were unable to fit inside.

“You would show ‘em who’s boss! And hopefully win the heart of the girl ya smitten with, eh?” Rarror grinned, chuckling lightly.

“Like that would happen…” Leonardo muttered with a sigh.

“Ugghh…” Rarror gave up, groaning loudly.

The boy left the small apartment, climbing down the stairs of block and arriving outside in the streets. Every single step he made, the more and more he dreaded arriving at school. After a walk that felt like forever, panicked thoughts flying through Leonardo’s of what was to come, he soon arrived at Lycee La Fontaine, the school he had been dreading so much to return to.

Taking a deep breath, Leonardo entered the school building, holding his books close to his chest. His eyes avoided those of others, the boy hoping he could get through another school day as soon as possible, and then hopefully the next two years, and then finally escape.

That was when he glanced up, seeing a girl standing among the countless amounts of students. It was Nicole Agreste, smile on her face, not noticing the boy. Although, when asked, most boys’ answer to ‘who is the prettiest girl in school?’ would be Avril Bellarose, Leonardo’s answer would most certainly be Nicole.

She seemed so king and genuine. The girl always held a radiant smile on her face, and she had the most lovely and contagious laugh. Not to mention, she was actually nice to Leonardo. Nicole probably didn’t even know his name, but that didn’t stop her from smiling at him every time she walked passed him, or having brief conversations with him on the rare time they sat next to each other during lessons.

Unfortunately, not long after Leonardo saw Nicole, he soon saw the boy she always hung around. Nicknamed the Ice Prince of La Fontaine, Étienne Bourgeois was quite possibly the cruellest and nastiest person Leonardo had ever met. Étienne never had anything nice to say, always speaking with cold, snide comments, glaring at others, and the way he treated his childhood friend, Nicole, was completely heart breaking. 

Leonardo hated him. He hated how Étienne acted as if he was better than everyone, hated how Étienne came from a filthy rich family, and most of all, he hated how Étienne only used his friendship with Nicole to his own benefit.

Keeping the rage he felt upon seeing the boy to himself, Leonardo quietly passed the two, seeing his locker not far away from them. He could overhear Nicole cheerfully talk about what they were going to do after school, the girl blabbering to a boy whose attention was focused solely on his phone. Leonardo could feel Étienne’s cold, teal eyes glance up from the device, watching as the boy walked passed.  
A foot forcibly pressed against Leonardo’s ankle as he attempted to get passed the boy, and he soon stumbled to the ground, books flying everywhere.

“Watch it,” Étienne hissed, directing a threatening glare down at the brunet, and a few students laughed.

And so, the start of Leonardo’s typical school day began, his biggest bully humiliating him once more. Étienne, with all the other aspects Leonardo hated about him, was a bully. A subtle one too – many of the teachers couldn’t even fathom the idea of the ideal pupil, Étienne, being a bully, and the other students were too busy worshiping the ground he walked on to stop his behaviour. 

“S-Sorry…” Leonardo stuttered, avoiding eye contact as his hands fumbled to grab his books. He could hear Rarror growling, but he stayed quiet, preferring not to get into anymore conflict.

“That was uncalled for, Étienne…” Leonardo heard Nicole mutter to the blonde as they walked away.

“Hm…” Étienne was quick to shrug it off, resuming his attention back on to whatever was currently on his phone.

As Leonardo scrambled to his feet, a sigh escaped his lips, books in hands. He could feel the glances of other students, some pitiful and others mocking, and the boy looked down at the ground. He pretended they weren’t looking at him, and that he hadn’t just made a scene, before walking to his locker.

“Damn, you look worse than usual,” Leonardo glanced up from his locker to see a boy dressed fully in black leaning next to him, eyebrows raised in amusement and arms crossed.

“Oh, hey Clair…” Leonardo muttered, looking back at his locker.

Clair Chevrolet was the only person in the school that Leonardo could consider a friend – well, ‘friend’ was a generous term. They weren’t particularly close, and only hung out because they had no one else to hang out with. Though, perhaps Leonardo should have been proud of himself - he did manage to actually talk to the boy who practically shunned every single human being, after all. Then again, the only thing they talked about was their mutual hatred of Étienne, or insulting one another.

“Lemme guess,” Clair walked to Leonardo’s other side, pressing his thumb against his lip, “Étienne, once again, embarrassed you in front of your crush.”

“N-No…” Leonardo quickly glanced away, embarrassed.

“You know, Nicole is waaaaay outta your league. I mean, really, really outta your league. It’s kinda sad,” Clair mused, chuckling harshly under his breath.

“Well, Beau Flamant is way out of your league, but you don’t see me complaining,” Leonardo muttered in response.

“Eh!? I’m just his biggest fan, geez!” Clair scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, “So, uh, how was the weekend?”

“Quiet. Read a few books,” that was a lie. In reality, he had been battling against a new villain, one known as La Scarabee - a beetle like villain who used pincers as weapons. She appeared to be clever and sneaky, and it had been a pain to fight her over the weekend, especially since he had particularly hard math homework to finish. Hopefully he would catch her soon, before she would rob more banks. The villainess only appeared last Friday, but her actions were already causing public panic.

“How surprising,” Clair replied sarcastically, “Unlike you, I did something cool."

“Clair? Cool? Really?” Leonardo raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, duh! I bought Misery Inferno’s latest album! I listened to it all weekend,” Clair exclaimed proudly.

“… You had to listen to all that screaming? I feel so sorry for your poor ears,” Leonardo visibly winced.

“It’s not just ‘screaming’, it’s art! A-Anyway, we should get going to lessons. The bell is gonna ring soon,” Clair grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Ok…” Leonardo sighed and nodded. The first lesson he had was math, a subject he was pretty good at, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Unfortunately for him, the teacher he had been assigned to was a complete nightmare.

The bell soon rung, and students left to go to their different classes. His classmates filled the maths room and Leonardo quickly went to find a seat, finding himself sitting at the front of the classroom. Clair was smart enough to not take maths, dropping the subject as soon as he found the chance, so Leonardo had no friends in this class. The boy took a deep breath, arranging his pencil case and taking out his work, preparing for the dreadful lesson to start.

“This is the only seat left? Great…” Étienne, having just arrived, gave an overexaggerated sigh, letting his displeasure known to all before sitting down next to Leonardo. Leonardo glanced at the blonde, hand tightening around his pen, as if to protect himself.

Étienne used his hand to push Leonardo against the very edge of the desk they had to share, as far away from him as possible, cringing in disgust, “You just… Stay there. Don’t come any closer to me; you smell of misery and lost potential. I do not want that to rub off on me. 

What a creative insult. Leonardo didn’t dare say that out loud. If he had, Étienne would probably find some other way to make his life miserable, the boy being known to finding very creative plots to get back at those he had grudges on.

The door to the classroom swung open and the grumpiest teacher in the entire school stormed in – Ma’am Caron, and the moment she entered, all the students inside the room was forced into a fearful silence. She looked down on her pupils, adjusting her raven hair behind her ears. Leonardo gulped, but noticed she looked slightly different today, wearing black earrings that seemed to be in the shape of some sort of bug.

“Class, have you finished the homework I’ve set for today?” she questioned, sitting at her desk.

With shaking hands, Leonardo slid his sheet of paper out of a plastic folder, the sheet filled with the complicated maths equations he had worked on so hard during the weekend. As he did so, Étienne took a gulp from his water bottle, before not so subtly tilting the bottle in the direction of the other boy’s work, water splashing against it, turning the work Leonardo had spent so long on into an unreadable, inky mess.

“M-My work…!” Leonardo shrieked in horror.

“Oops, I’m so clumsy,” Étienne said coldly, speaking with a bored, monotone voice, “I guess Losernardo will just have to re-do it. Sorry.”

Ma’am glared down at the blonde, unamused by his actions, “Bullying is not tolerated in the classroom.”

“What? It was an accident,” Étienne, unfazed by her fierce glare, rolled his teal eyes, “You’re not going to punish me for an accident… Right? Do I need to remind you that I have ties to some of the wealthiest people in Paris? Such as my own parents, who own Le Grand Paris and practically own the Louvre? Oh, and my God-Father is a super model, and his wife is a famous fashion designer. You really don’t want to get on my bad side.”  
“Tch, just hand in your homework,” Ma’am Caron hissed, collecting in the work. She was quite possibly the only teacher in the school that disliked Étienne Bourgeois, viewing him as what he was – a spoilt brat. It was the only trait that Leonardo liked about her, which did say something about his bitterness towards the boy.

Unfortunately, she didn’t do anything about Étienne’s behaviour, letting the boy off the hook once more. Class continued, Ma’am Caron grumpily informing the students on what they needed to learn. Leonardo often wondered why she decided to teach – she was obviously unhappy working at the place, perhaps it was just to make her students’ lives miserable? The boy shrugged it off, taking notes.

“Ma’am. I don’t understand. Explain more specifically, you’re speaking in a different language,” snapped Étienne rudely. Despite the harsh way he phrased it, Leonardo couldn’t help but agree.

“If you ask more politely, then maybe I will,” Ma’am Caron sneered in retaliation.

“I have parents that can sue you,” Étienne replied, narrowing his eyes.

“You’d rather sue than have basic manners?” Leonardo accidentally said, before slamming his hands over his mouth. A few members of the class chuckled, while he heard some more say ‘buuurn!’.

Étienne chuckled harshly, turning his attention on Leonardo, “Excuse me?”

“N-Nothing…!” Leonardo quickly spoke, looking down, his heart racing. Étienne was definitely going to kill him.

“Ma’am. He just insulted me. That’s bullying. Punish him,” Étienne accused calmly, gazing back at the teacher.

“He was just stating the obvious,” Ma’am Caron said, “That’s hardly bullying.”

“Yeah, well, he’s poor. So, like, you must punish him for speaking to his superiors like that,” Étienne ordered, sounding slightly agitated.

“In this class, all students are equal,” Ma’am Caron explained, glaring at the boy.

“My Mum can sue you,” Étienne hissed, crossing his arms.

“And your Dad will stop her. Both of you have detention.” And so, having put an end to the dispute as quickly as possible, Ma’am Caron continued the lesson.

Leonardo could feel his stomach churn at her words, eyes widening in horror – he had detention? For one comment? That was so unfair! He did not know if she was being reasonable or not, but she most certainly was not on his side. Now his pristine record of being a straight A student with no detentions would be tarnished! Will future employers see this? Will this mean potential opportunities are ruined!? Leonardo took a deep breath to calm down. He was just serving a lunch time detention, not some life ruining sentence. He just had to spend the lunch period in a classroom with Étienne.

He was going to be stuck with Étienne all lunch time. 

This was a fate worse than death.

Lunch eventually arrived, the classes passing by as Leonardo panicked about the prospect of being forced to sit in a room with the evil incarnation known as Étienne Bourgeois. As he hesitantly walked to the room where detention would be held, he took deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm himself down. He arrived at the room, and Étienne exited, walking passed him.

“H-Hey, aren’t you-”

“Oh, it’s easy to get out of detention,” Étienne feigned a kind look, giving the boy a fake smile, narrow eyes mocking him, “Just bribe the teacher keeping an eye on you and you can leave scot free! Oh, wait. I forgot. You’re dirt poor.”

Giving a cruel laugh, Étienne walked off, and Leonardo sighed. He really wanted to punch Étienne in the face. Or cry. But he did neither and just entered the dreaded room, finding a desk to sit at. His brown eyes briefly met the ones of the attendant, but the boy was quick to glance away, staring down at his desk.

Five minutes in, and the fire bell went off. After the short feeling of surprise, Leonardo stood up and left the room, somewhat glad for this interruption. However, soon after leaving the room, he was pushed to the ground by running students. Usually they were supposed to be orderly during fire alarms – walking to the closest fire exit and organising themselves on the field. What was going on?

“Oh, Losernardo!” Clair rushed up to him, using the harsh nickname that had become popular to refer to him as, “We need to leave. Quick.”

“Huh? Why? What’s going on?” Leonardo questioned.

“You know Le Scarabée, right? Well, it seems she’s tired of robbing banks and has gone to attacking students!” Clair stated, snatching Leonardo’s hand and dragging him towards the closest exit of the school.

“W-Wait, Le Scarabée is here!?” the brunet shrieked.

“Uh, duh! I just said so! Hey! What are you-?!” Leonardo didn’t listen to hear what Clair had left to say, running in the opposite direction. This was his chance to finally defeat her!

Managing to hide in the boy’s bathroom through the chaos, Leonardo looked down at his bracelet, and soon he noticed Rarror floating beside him, grinning widely, “Are ya finally gonna go all King Lion mode!?”

“Of course! Le Scarabée is here! I need to defeat her!” Leonardo took a deep breath, “Make me roar!”

Glasses disappeared, replaced with a mask. He was soon in a brown body suit with a tail, and he had brass knuckles on his wrists. The boy grinned widely, already feeling ten times more confident. He was no longer the pathetic ‘Losernardo’ that let everyone step all over him, instead he was King Lion! Greatest hero in Paris!

“What’s the plan, kid?” Rarror questioned as they left the boy’s bathroom.

“Beat her up ‘til she surrenders,” King Lion explained, flashing his kwami a smirk.

“Now that’s something I can go on board with! Let’s do this!” Rarror cheered loudly, and King Lion ran off, running to where he heard the most chaos from – the cafeteria.

There was where he saw the villainess herself. La Scarabee stood there, guarding a large group of terrified students. It appeared she was taking hostages, snapping her pincer like weapons at any of the students who dared disobey her, scaring them into submission.

“You all do exactly as I say, and no one gets hurt,” she hissed, glaring menacingly down at them. 

All the student looked frightened, obeying her every word. All of them, except one. Étienne, who, unsurprisingly, was more interested on whatever was on his phone than the person who had the ability to kill him.

“Mr Bourgeois! Get off your phone this instant!” Le Scarabée ordered, clearly infuriated by his behaviour.

“Hmm… No,” Étienne casually used his phone to take a picture of her, “This is going on Instagram.”

“I’ll kill you!” she threatened.

“No, no you won’t,” Étienne shrugged, uploading the picture online, “King Lion and that snake-person-thingy are going to come and beat you up. We’re going to be fine.”

“What makes you so sure of that!?”

“King Lion is right behind you.”

“E-Eh-!?” Le Scarabée spun around, only to be hit across the face. His brass knuckles crashed against her cheek and she screeched in pain, before glaring menacingly at him, “YOU!”

“Good afternoon. You’ve stooped down pretty low, huh? Holding poor, helpless children as hostages instead of adults,” King Lion mused, tutting, his arms crossed.

“How dare you…!” she attempted to use her pincers to grab him, only for the boy to dodge with ease, chuckling as he did so.

“This is gonna be cake-”

A poison dart flew passed and, right before in could hit her, Le Scarabée used her pincers to quickly grab it, snapping it in half. Immediately, she turned to face the source, “Serpent…!”

“Am I late to the show?” Serpent questioned with a smug tone, holding her blowgun, before glaring at King Lion, “It appears the nuisance is here.”

“Hm? Are you talking about yourself?” King Lion returned the glare, growling ever so slightly. He hated her – the girl was insufferable! Serpent always thought she was better than him, when, in reality, they were probably equal. She even acted as if she were smarter than him too! He doubted she was a Straight A student like him.

“Uh, excuse me but get back to flirting later. You guys need to save me,” Étienne ordered, rolling his eyes, before glancing at his fellow hostages, “And the others… I guess. But I’m top priority!”  
“D-Don’t worry!” Serpent turned to smile at the boy, “I’ll make sure you’re safe!”

“… Yay. Serpent,” Étienne sighed, looking back down at his phone.

“Ugh, lemme guess, swooning over pretty boy?” King Lion grumbled, raising an eyebrow, looking judgementally at Serpent.

"I am not swooning…!” Serpent puffed out her cheeks, glaring at him.

“Riiiiight.”

“I’m not!”

“… Well, I guess this is the perfect opportunity,” Le Scarabée muttered under her breath, talking to herself as she watched to heroes begin to argue. She charged at them, preparing her pincers to attack.

Both King Lion and Serpent shrieked, jumping quickly out of her way, landing in the opposite sides of the dining hall. The woman glared at them, eyes looking between both, deciding who to go for. Eventually, she decided on King Lion, charging towards the boy. King Lion immediately prepared to fight, leaping in the air to kick her, only for her to grab his foot.

A dart distracted her, and King Lion was released. Serpent finally did something useful, it appeared. King Lion took this as a chance, and he leapt up, grabbing one of Le Scarabée’s pincers, pulling it off. Before she could have a chance to grab it back, he threw the pincer out of the window.

“How dare you, insolent boy!” Le Scarabée sneered, jumping back, standing in front of her hostages. She grabbed one by the neck – Étienne, of course – and pressed her remaining pincer against it.

“Take one step closer, and I’ll kill this boy! I’ve always wanted to kill him, now I finally get the chance!” Le Scarabée gave a manic laugh, pulling the boy closer. Étienne didn’t look scared at all, instead bored, as if this was just some minor inconvenience if anything.

“Why would you want to kill him!?” gasped Serpent in horror.

“A million reasons already come to mind,” King Lion mused.

“You’re just jealous of him!” Serpent yelled, “Anyway! We need to save him!”

“Hurrah,” King Lion gave an annoyed sighed, before glancing up at Le Scarabée, “So, what do you want?”

“… Eh?” the woman blinked in surprise.

“Well, you only take hostages when you want something – like money. What do you want?” King Lion questioned, crossing his arms.

Le Scarabée stayed silent for a few seconds, her grip against the aloof Étienne growing tighter, “I want… I want to kill this bratty child! And take all the money from this damned school! This place has taken so many years of my life away, and for what!? A tiny pay-check at the end of the week! And this boy… All students… They all think they’re so much better than me, I-”

A dart slammed into her arm and, giving a pained shriek, she let go. The blond soon jumped away from her as she was distracted by the pain, the other hostages following suit. Serpent, holding her blowgun, rose her voice, yelling, “Run! Get out of here!”

The students were fast to obey, speedily trying to escape the cafeteria. Eyes widening, Le Scarabée desperately attempted to stop them, lunging at the students, “GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

She chased the students out of the cafeteria, and both King Lion and Serpent sprinted to the doors, watching her. Brown eyes narrowed as the boy thought about what he just heard from the woman. Finally, he chuckled lightly, “I think I know who she is.”

“Well, she’s obviously a teacher,” Serpent responded, arms crossed, “But if you know which one, then be free to tell.”

“Ma’am Caron, the maths teacher,” King Lion said.

Serpent blinked, before thinking. She eventually nodded, “I guess that makes sense. She does appear to hate all the students.”

“Particularly Étienne,” he added.

“Alright, so we know who he is, but now we need to find out where her Miraculous is. Any ideas?” Serpent pressed her thumb against her lips, borrowing her eyebrows, thinking.

“I think I know!” King Lion gasped, remembering what he saw on the woman earlier that day.

“What is it?” Serpent questioned, eyes widening. 

“Why should I tell you!?” King Lion laughed loudly, sprinting off, chasing after the villainess, “We’re rivals after all!”

“That stupid lion…” Serpent hissed, clenching her fists tightly before following him.

Le Scarabée chased the students, rage clear in her eyes as she yelled colourful threats at the students. She ran through the school, snapping her one pincer. Soon, King Lion stopped her in her tracks, standing at the other end of the corridor, causing the woman to glare darkly at him, “Hey, Le Scarabée! Or, should I say, Ma’am Caron!”

“E-Eh!? How did you-!? Never mind…! Means I’ll just have to kill you!” she sneered, before charging at him.

King Lion was quick to kick her in the stomach, and she jumped back, before using her pincer in an attempt to cut him. He soon dodged, jumping behind her as she tried to attack again. The boy leapt on to her shoulders, only to be thrown off.

“Insolent boy… Hasn’t anyone taught you to respect you seniors!?” she attacked again, hitting him across the room.

“Hasn’t anyone taught you not to abuse tiny, innocent children!” King Lion teased in return, picking himself up and charging again.

He used his brass knuckles to hit her against the shoulder, causing the woman to shriek in pain, allowing him to tackle her. The boy saw the beetle earrings on her ears, and prepared to snatch them off, only to feel her pincer press into his stomach.

King Lion immediately jumped back before the pincer could do any damage, wincing slightly in pain. Le Scarabée hit the boy across the side of the head, using her pincer, causing him to crash against the locker. She prepared for the kill, lunging at the boy, and he decided that this would be a good time to use his secret weapon.

“MIGHT!” he yelled, the word that was the key to his power. A surge of energy formed in his stomach, and he opened his mouth once again to let out a loud ‘roar’, one that mimicked the sound of a lion.

The power of his roar hit Le Scarabée, throwing her against the end of the hall, crashing against the walls of the school. The floor cracked slightly, and lockers were forced open. A smirk formed on the boy’s lips as he ran towards the woman, preparing to end this battle for good. She slowly attempted to climb to her feet, trembling from the pain, glaring at King Lion, “You…!”

She used the last of her energy to charge at the boy, furious. She never reached him, however, instead falling to the ground, a poison dart hitting her in the back of the head.

“Eh…?” King Lion blinked in surprise, before seeing a figure standing behind her: Serpent.

“Thanks for the distraction! Now, where is her Miraculous?” Serpent knelt by the unconscious body of Le Scarabée, narrowing her eyes to search for the source of her power.

“I’m not telling-”

“Oh! Her earrings!” Serpent grinned proudly, pulling the piece of jewellery off, reverting back to Le Scarabée back to her civilian form, Ma’am Caron.

“E… Eh…?” Ma’am Caron hazily glanced up at the heroes, lacking any strength to escape.

“I won that one,” King Lion growled.

“I did the finishing touch. I won,” Serpent replied, a smugness in her tone.

“Well, you-”

“Oh, look, it was that awful math teach all along. Called it,” the two stopped their brief argument, turning to look at Étienne, who left his hiding place.

“Ugh,” King Lion rolled his brown eyes, not wanting to deal with the person he hated most in the world.

“So, I’m going to take a selfie with you now,” Étienne stated, taking out his phone.

“Really!?” Serpent looked incredibly happy by this, “Ok, then-”

Étienne rudely pushed the girl out of his way, grabbing King Lion and forcing him close, snapping a picture of them together. King Lion growled, but didn’t do anything to stop the annoying boy.

“This will get a ton of likes on Instagram,” Étienne pulled away, glancing at the picture: an image of Étienne holding his usual aloof expression and King Lion glaring at the camera. It looked slightly menacing, if anything.

“Are you gonna say ‘thank you’ for us saving your life?” King Lion asked harshly.

“Thank you for saving your life,” Étienne responded, and Serpent laughed.

“You’re so funny!” she exclaimed.

“No, I’m not,” Étienne gave her a cold look and she immediately shut up.

King Lion noticed he didn’t have much time left before he would revert back to normal. He glanced around, searching for a place he could hide, eventually deciding on the boy’s bathroom, “Well! I gotta go!”

“Huh, wait-” he sprinted off before Étienne could finish the sentence, quickly entering the bathroom and running into a cubicle. The hero outfit soon disappeared and, once again, he was the loser known as Leonardo.

“Hey, don’t look so down,” his kwami stated, flying up beside him, “You just saved ya school! And did one heck of a job of it too!”

“Thanks,” he gave Rarror a weak smile, slowly exiting the cubicle. The boy waited before he could hear people gather back in the school hallway before leaving the room, unnoticed to many.

As he walked through the busy school hallway, he noticed Ma’am Caron being arrested by the police, Étienne telling the story of how King Lion saved the day, and that Serpent was already gone. He gave a quiet sigh, before walking passed the group that gathered around the crime scene, making sure to avoid all eye-contact.

He bumped into someone, and blushed in embarrassment, looking up to see the pretty Nicole of all people. Leonardo’s heart pace increased rapidly as the flustered boy stuttered out an apology, “S-Sorry…”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Nicole gave a kind smile, before walking away, leaving to great her best friend, Avril.

Leonardo watched as she left, wishing he could say something else, spark a conversation. ‘Hey, that incident was pretty crazy, huh?’ or ‘Did you manage to stay safe?’ popped into his mind, words he could have said if he were more confident. But he wasn’t and never will be, forever just some loser.

School was closed early that day, and Leonardo soon rushed home, wishing that he could truly be as confidant as King Lion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this. The main part of the story will start next chapter! I have quite a bit planned, so hopefully it will be good. Thank you so much for reading, and if you have the time, comment please. I'd like to know if you enjoyed it or not, and constructive criticism is appreciated! Thank you again for reading,

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed this! This was a bit of an introduction chapter, and the next chapter will be focusing on King Lion. I'm actually planning to post pictures along with this, so like the character's appearances and stuff. I can't do that at the moment, but will in a week or so! But yeah... I'm sorry if this is confusing or rubbish, but thanks for reading. Please comment your opinion! And constructive criticism is welcome! :)  
> (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FHf9geehJ83cXABqGxBYlfkzWv9P1ZE8/view?usp=sharing - link to what Nicole looks like.)


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